Name: Clare Dowley
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Major(s)/Minor(s): Mechanical Engineering
Expected Graduation Year: May 2016
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
Despite being extremely busy working over the summer, I had an amazing intern experience. Unrelated to the actual work, everyone I worked with is very nice and friendly. That makes a huge difference when coming into a new workplace. They treated me like a fellow employee instead of an intern to give all the busy work. While I did have some filing and meaningless tasks to do, I was actually given a significant amount of real work. I handled invoices daily, processing things to be paid, as well as work on the Project Completion Report, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Materials, and even some work inside the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. I even got an inside look at the other WT projects on UMBC's campus, such as the new gateway entrance and Lot 29, the new parking lot by Walker field. I am very happy with my internship and the experiences I had this summer.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I found this internship on UMBCWorks. I applied online over the winter break and got a call from the woman who was to become my Project Manager. She called to set up an interview for when I was back on campus for the spring semester. I came to the trailers for the interview, we talked for a bit, and then she gave me a tour of Phase 2 of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, which was then not yet open to the public. A couple weeks later she called again to offer me a position for the summer. The resources I used to get this internship was the resume check at the Shriver Center and the database of UMBCWorks.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
UMBCworks
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I have enjoyed seeing the changes to the campus where I go to school. Having an internship with WT allowed me to have inside looks at the Performing Arts and Humanities Building as well as the new Gateway entrance project and Lot 29, the parking lot next to Walker Apartments. It has been interesting to see the changes as they happen and have the insider information.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
I have gained knowledge of the construction industry. I never knew about the engineering and design side, only the labor. There are some aspects of the projects that require such detail and I did not know such things even had to be considered when designing a building. Walking around the projects with the WT employees caused me to see them from a whole new view that I would never have had walking around a building with anyone else.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I would tell others to apply to everything, especially if you're not certain what you want to do after graduation. While I still do not know for sure, I am much closer to that decision after this internship than I was before. I believe the key to that decision will be experience.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
What I liked most about my internship was the level of success with creating positive change around my campus paired with the extreme friendliness of everyone I worked with.
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